Gilman Hall 400

The Program in Latin America, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies is pleased to welcome Professor Angharad Valdivia, Media and Cinema Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, to present:

Latina/os in Media: Continuities and Ruptures

This presentation focuses on Latinx/e in contemporary mainstream media. Drawing on historically enduring tropes dating back to the post WWII period, I track continuities and ruptures in the production of Latinidad. Latinas in mainstream media appear in a range of visibilities: from nearly imperceptible to overdetermined and stereotypical Latinidad. Latina stars such as Jenna Ortega and Selena Gomez intentionally transition from ambiguous Latinas during their childhood and teen years into a diverse and heterogeneous presence as protagonists and producers. Utopian outcomes of such career moves suggest a slowly changing media ecology for Latinas in media.